


But Already, My Body is not Listening

by Quinn_Oct



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Magic, Demon AU, Demon!Dowoon, Demons, Four Horsemen, Gen, Horsemen, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I'm Sorry, Profanity, Some Plot, overuse of commas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:09:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18872935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinn_Oct/pseuds/Quinn_Oct
Summary: Dowoon knows that it would not be easy for his hyungs to adapt to a new lifestyle: a life of magic and knowing that they would be factors to the apocalypse, but he didn't expect it to be this exhausting.(Or: Dowoon is the Anti-Christ and his bandmates are apparently the four horsemen, yet they just discovered their powers it's up to him to protect his hyungs from themselves, and also from the demons who are after him.)title is from a line is WARNING! by Day6





	1. I've Already Stepped Over It

**Author's Note:**

> This is set when they were preparing for the Shoot Me Era so their hair colors are that, hope you enjoy!!
> 
> the chapter title is from a line in Warning by Day6,
> 
> but yeah, I just wrote a little scenario on this [ au ](https://twitter.com/Quinn_Oct/status/1129821951973683202) I thought about. I wrote this all on my phone and this was not proof-read (?), so apologies for any grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoyed, will probably write more in the future...... or not, who knows?

* * *

Covering the phone speaker with his long fingers, Jae glanced behind him from his spot on the midnight-colored couch to call for his bandmate’s attention.  **”Wonpil! Do you need something from the grocery store?”**  A contemplating hum could be heard coming from the dining room, to where Wonpil sat, earphones slotted in one ear, with his laptop open and multiple sheets of paper covered the wooden brown tabletop. 

 

With a newly sharpened pencil upon his slender fingers, he absentmindedly began to twirl it’s wooden body as he took a small sip from his already-warm iced americano, making sure to hold the brown cardboard cup sleeve since the melted ice already formed water droplets on the plastic body of the cup. Still keeping his attention on the multiple musical notes written in his notebook, he responded.  **”Not as of the moment... why?”**

 

His question went unanswered, however, since Jae already proceeded to continue with his conversation on his phone. Wonpil looked up from what he was doing, watching his hyung with curiosity as Jae animatedly talked to the other end of the line. Jae’s newly dyed blue hair bouncing against his scalp with his round-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, using his pale cream hoodie as sweater paws and his soft lips uttering a mix of English and Korean in response to the caller. With his feet on the sofa, the pastel-haired male put the phone pressed between his ear and shoulder, then took out his red folded notebook, setting it on his lap. Wonpil waited - pushing his sliding glasses back to the bridge of his nose while shaking his dark copper-red hair out of his line of sight - until the other was done with his phone call, observing his silhouette from behind. 

 

**”....Yeah we don’t really need anything... yeah sure... ‘kay”**  Jae ended the call, the light _‘Beep’_  signaling the end of the short call. Slightly lowering the screen of his laptop, Wonpil moved the objects on the table to make space for his elbows, then proceeded to ask another question. **”Hyung, who was that?”**

 

**”That was Brian, he said he’s at the store a block away from here and was asking us if we needed anything before he leaves.”**

 

**”Kang Bra?”**  The two whip their heads to the source of the new voice. Emerging from a white door adjacent to the kitchen area were two figures, one heading towards Wonpil and the other towards Jae. Walking towards the kitchen counter was Sungjin - light brown hair naturally parted to the side of his face, his eyes glistened even in the artificial light of the kitchen and reflected a slight trace of concern. One hand reached for the orange set on a glass bowl on the counter and proceeded to stand right next to the copper head, the other setting it firmly on the backrest of Wonpil’s seat and leaning his body weight in it.

 

Jae removed his feet and sat up straight to give some space for the maknae - and Dowoon’s laptop too, which the younger put on the space right in between them - before fully facing their leader.  **”Yeah that was Brian, he said he didn’t know what happened to him earlier and that he’d already cleared his mind.”**  Jae scoffed, before facing the leader.  **”Also he asked me to tell you that he wants you to accompany him tomorrow, something about being embarrassed to face the manager and,”**  with a small smile forming on his lips, he then imitated the way Younghyun spoke with a half begging, half pouting voice in English.  ** _“I Need Moral Support, pleaseeeee~”_**

 

**”Still though,”**  Wonpil chided,  **”Earlier was a shock....”**

 

It was a fine day earlier, a picture perfect morning. The cottony-white cumulus clouds slowly drifting across the pale blue of the sky, the sun casting a halo around the cotton balls, providing light, yet minimal heat and exposure to the Earth below. The birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming, a cool breeze left by Winter still present around the mid-April air; nothing could ruin this beautiful day - at least, that’s what Wonpil thought so.

 

While at the studio, their higher-ups informed the band of something that, honestly, Wonpil could only describe as a  _‘stupid decision’_ , and it seems like his friends thought so too. Along with the stress of the recent -  _‘unbelievable’_  as he himself would describe it - events, consisting of: discovering the existence of paranormal and otherworldly forces, knowing that these so-called forces are now out to get them and that their very own youngest is an heir to whatever system the beings have, that they have an influence and part in a bigger plan for Armageddon, and not to mention that he’s apparently a being with supernatural powers that are supposed to be feared, and will bring destruction (along with his closest friends) as stated by the bible in the book of revelation; surely these mind-bending discoveries brought enough mental toll and emotional stress upon the five, but then their own management was contemplating on canceling their June Comeback, the mini album that they’ve put all their blood, sweat, and tears into making, the very album that gave them momentary relief from all the said events from before. In the unbearable silence that engulfed the small studio room, Wonpil knows, even without looking around him, that his members feel the same way too: frustration, anger, disappointment or even just acceptance, he can not pinpoint exactly what it is, yet what he does know is that his friends feel it too, but even with these puzzling emotions, their group would manage somehow, that they experienced enough mental exhaustion that they won’t fight, for now, that is. So it came as a surprise when his newfound magic detected an anomaly, a sudden shift in the air of the ventilated room.

 

In the - now frightening - silence, the room got colder, a chill running through their spines as the lights flicker rapidly across the room, mist started to form on the tinted glass doors, and the most alarming one of all, the potted plants located on top of the hanging shelves right next to the - now shut - windows were slowly losing their vibrant green hue, the stems bending forward as the leaves fall onto the desk below, quickly rotting and soon crumbling into ashes. Looking towards to the solo seat where Dowoon sat, he saw the dark-haired male staring in shock with what’s supposedly in front of him, which so happens to be Younghyun, the source of the sinister aura that circulated the studio.

 

With a shadow cast on his face, anyone could see that Younghyun - The Kang Younghyun - was pissed (which was alarming since it rarely happens). With a blank face, a perfectly calm expression, he began to speak, staring straight in the eyes of the manager in the room, who was half-sitting half-standing on the desk in front of one of the monitors. Wonpil, however, cannot hear any of it, the words becoming a blur as he stares at his hyung’s piercing cat-like eyes. A striking pair of glowing yet pale green irises replaced his friend’s normal brown ones, terrifying yet welcoming, like the very thing that Younghyun now, or revealed to, embody -  _‘The Pale Rider’_ , or Death, who has now presented himself, and that the Four Horsemen are complete. He was soon snapped out of his stupor when Jae shook him.

 

**”Wonpil are you okay?”** Jae said, his kneeling body in front of Wonpil’s, glancing up with chocolate eyes behind his circular glasses. Giving a quick, yet unsure nod, Wonpil felt that the cold air faded, the lights stopped flickering and that the dark presence was now gone: as if nothing happened. In confusion, he looked around the room and saw a worrying sight: right behind Jae - the man kneeling in front of him - is Younghyun in the clutches of Sungjin, who appeared to be reassuring or comforting the former, trying to calm him down. Younghyun wore an expression of shock and horror on his face as if he just woke up from a dream then was informed that he killed a man on his sleep (which probably is the case). No longer were his eyes displaying that hypnotic sickly sheen glazed into his pupils, but rather back to its normal brown hue.  **”Wha-“** , a loud gulp,  **”What did I do?”** Younghyun asked, worry laced on his tone as he looked towards Wonpil and Jae’s left. Finally noticing the presence right next to him, Wonpil then observed Dowoon along with 3 other pairs of eyes on the youngest.

 

Dowoon back was facing them, his silhouette down on one knee, two fingers on the side of the neck of their manager, who was lying still on the ground, the body a white sheet of paper and eyes wide open in horror. Before Wonpil could panic, he saw faint black shadows heading towards the maknae and the manager’s body, followed by an iridescent glow which seemed to appear from where Dowoon’s fingers and the manager’s skin meet, a chain soon materializing itself onto the laying man’s chest, and then a translucent figure being pulled rapidly into his superior’s body before merging itself with it and the chain soon vanishing into mid-air. A sigh of relief escaped Sungjin’s lips when they noticed the manager’s chest rose and fell softly and slowly, signaling that he’s alive.

 

**”He’ll be alright, probably wake up in an hour or so...”**  Dowoon said while standing up and heading toward’s the others.  **”He’ll forget about the specifics and will just think that he just collapsed due to stress.”**  He continued, meeting the eyes of each of his hyungs, trying to tell them that the man would be fine, that no permanent damage was done.

 

After carrying the manager’s unconscious body and carefully setting him on the armchair, Younghyun took his bag - which Wonpil thinks is his school bag, since Younghyun came to the studio as soon as his classes finished - and excused himself, saying that he’d have to take a walk to calm himself and that he’d meet the others back at the dorm for later that night, when they all decide to go home. After several minutes of silence, the four then left towards their home, deciding on going home early to discuss the matter at hand. Before stepping out into the hallway, Wonpil took one last glance at the studio and quickly willed the dead plants back to life before shutting the door with a soft click.

 

Wonpil feels a tap on his shoulder and suddenly he’s aware of his surroundings, snapping out of his daze on recalling the events.  **”Wonpil.”**  the man in question glanced towards his right, seeing Sungjin’s eyes -  _‘beautiful’_   He had to stopped himself before he could utter the word - staring back at him in anticipation. Wonpil then noticed that Sungjin was holding something, a half-circle shaped object in between his fingertips, a sickly yellow highlight accompanying various shades of rotten brown; it appeared deflated like its juices were squeezed until it no longer became nutritious, like no longer edible -  _oh._

 

**”Sorry hyung”**  Wonpil said sheepishly, eyes following the decaying slice of orange as Sungjin open a compartment underneath the kitchen counter behind him, throwing the fruit into the trash bin. The elder gave a small wave with his other hand - as if telling Wonpil that it’s fine, and reached towards the other half of the orange that is left unaffected by Wonpil’s powers. 

 

Sungjin understands, after all, he’s been through the first week of adapting that Wonpil’s going through. Approximately three weeks ago, the world seemed completely fine and mundane, with no traces of magic whatsoever: he is human, his bandmates are human, that ordinary people roam the Earth - until he got exposed to demons materializing in their practice room. A whole day of misfortune: the car breaking down, minor gas leaks, clogged sewers, etc. paired with having an intense headache resulted in him having a lack of patience to survive the day, and having shadow-like grotesque creatures wrecking havoc to his group made him extremely irritable - yet he didn’t realize that his mood accidentally affected everyone around him, making them fall sick (some still severely ill and on their sick leave) across the entire building until he witnessed it’s effect to his members a day after the initial incident. 

 

His  _‘awakening’_  (as Younghyun would call it) was nothing grand, yet it still had the same effect of horror and confusion to the person. Deeming himself abnormal, he kept it secret for three -  _‘careful, riddled with anxiety’_ , Sungjin would describe it like that - days until their maknae noticed and immediately explained everything he needed to know to keep him sane (also worth to mention the shock and panic Dowoon hid behind his eyes, the peeping light portraying a million problems and burdens Sungjin finds concerning, yet that’s a story for another time). Being the first horseman - _'Conquest? Pestilence? Pollution?'_ Even he didn’t exactly know what he was - his sudden thrust to the world beyond his area of normalcy brought the others with him, marking the start of a series of bizarre and dangerous events that would change the five’s lives.

 

**”It’s just that...”**  Wonpil let out a sigh and let his shoulders drop - which he didn’t realize had been tense - before continuing to speak.  **”I did some research about this, and some accounts said something that made me think, what if it wasn’t Brian-hyung but"**  he shuddered, **"... Death using his mind?”**  at that last sentence, Sungjin’s eyes instantly widened and Jae’s ears perked up, springing from his relaxed state on the sofa and in one swift movement, he turned his head to look right next to him, Dowoon being shocked at the sudden action. His glasses not being able to hide the fear in his eyes, his voice raised in tone, asking the question on their minds directed to Dowoon. **"W-wait, we’ll get possessed?!!”**

 

Dowoon blinked once and looked at his hyung’s faces, processing the question then let out a small laugh - the others all looked at him with fear still evident on their forms - before he answered, hopefully relieving his friends’ worries. **”No. You’re not really demons, so you’re still you. It doesn’t apply to you but it only amplifies your emotions”**  Dowoon mutters a quick  **”I think”**  under his breath and heard the others have sighs of relief.  **”Wait, how were you able to research info on the net? What sites?”** Jae asked, directing his question to Wonpil, who flashed his signature boxy smile while pointing finger guns towards the taller, saying  **”Wi-ke-pe-di-ya”**  in his accented English which caused Jae to be flustered and Sungjin to rethink his entire life and his choices. Wonpil soon cringed after moments of awkward silence, thankfully Dowoon spoke to break it.

 

Setting the red cushion he was hugging onto his lap, Dowoon took the black laptop beside him, opening it and typing his password.  **”I was with Sungjin hyung earlier, and I explained some of what I know about this, and Sungjin hyung typed it all on my laptop. Hopefully some tabs are still open.”** , He said without sparing a glance to his bandmates, eyes fixed on the screen, trying to find the file and bookmarks on his chrome tab.  **”I did some research too! I printed some back at the office.”**  Wonpil exclaimed as he stood up with sheets of paper in his hand, the yellow highlighter stood out amongst the white page, then proceeded towards the living room where the guitarist and the drummer were, Sungjin following right behind him. Wonpil kneeled right next to where Dowoon was sitting, knees on the soft carpet and papers on top of the glass coffee table while Sungjin sat on the soft leather armrest right next to Jae.

 

**”Wow seems like everyone did their research, but shouldn’t we wait for Brian before talking about this? Less hassle on explaining, ‘nam sayin’?”**  Jae said, holding his red notebook in one hand while reaching for his mug of - already cold - coffee (which, in all honesty, Jae forgot that he had coffee to begin with) and putting it against his lips, taking a sip of the liquid while ignoring the members’ parroting his words,  **”Nam Sae In”**  being heard at least 3 times before stopping.

 

**”Explaining what?”**

 

**”JESUS CHRIST BRI!!”**  The members look behind the couch to see the fifth member, Younghyun standing behind the couch, a cheeky smile on his face and bags of snacks on his hand. Jae had accidentally spilled some coffee on the sofa and some on his hoodie, a brown stain obvious against the soft cream hue. The others didn’t notice the raven entering their dorm since they were all busy with their devices, yet Jae being shocked made Dowoon let out his squeal and Sungjin and Wonpil be in a fit of laughter. Jae tried to set the mug back to the table yet Wonpil’s animated movements have caused to table to be displaced, which resulted to the mug falling to the carpet, causing a spill, and a potted plant - which again, the members forgot was even there - to fall unto the wooden tiles, shattering into a million little clay pieces with the tiny violet petals scattering on the ash brown floor. The members all stared at the mess that was created with blank minds, trying to process what happened before Sungjin’s eyes widened for the nth time today and realize how much they fucked up.

 

**”Dongyul hyung put that there!”**  three heads then turned to their leader, expecting him to further elaborate.  **”He said to not mess with it because that was his kid’s project!”** Dongyul is their manager (the manager they are the closest to, not the one from the incident earlier) and he put his 6-year old daughter’s project - which was to paint a vase for a plant that she would like - at their dorm because it would have a high chance of being shattered by their golden Labrador if it was left in Dongyul’s own home; so now that the gladiolus flower is on the ground, violet petals detached to it’s green leaves ( _‘Why a gladiolus flower hyung?’Aren't those long, tall plants?’_  Sungjin once asked, watching their manager put the small pot onto the table, it’s small messy flower designs consisting of black stems, blue blobs with yellow circles in the middle painted on the clay, the pot carefully angled to face the television.  _‘She loves these flowers, I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’s too tall, so I cut the leaves in half so it would somehow fit.’_  Dongyul answered with a small smile on his face, a happy reminiscent tone on his voice as the father was reminded of his daughter back at home.) and the soil clumped into a huge block. The group then sprung into action to try to fix the pot.

 

Sungjin proceeded to bolt towards the kitchen,  **”There’s some strong adhesive lying under the sink somewhere, I’ll go get it!!”**  left his lips, kneeling in front of the sink and opening its compartments in search for the toolbox.  **”W-Wait I think I have some children’s paint, I’ll find it!”**  Jae stated, slamming the white door open and running inside his own room. Wonpil picked up all the pieces of the clay pot and tried to piece it together - like some elaborate puzzle piece - while sitting on the carpet, the clay on top of the coffee table while Younghyun decided to hold the plant upright and keep its soil intact. Dowoon went to the storage room in search for a mop to clean up the coffee stain, but while he was there he heard a shriek. 

 

Running out and peeking his head towards the living area, he saw Younghyun and Wonpil with panicking eyes all staring towards a wilting flower, the stem hunching forward and the violet petals losing it’s vibrant hue, fading into gray-lavenders. 

 

**”Why is the flower wilting?!! Why is the flower dying?!!”**  Jae’s raised voice boomed across the dorm, holding a small box of poster paint in one hand while running towards the area where the incident took place.  **”I-I-I don’t know I just held it to keep it alive!!”** Younghyun stated, trying to defend himself for his action.

 

**”It was an accident! Pirrie hold it!”**  The raven said, giving it towards the copper-head, who was shocked and confused as to why the attention is suddenly on him. When he realized, it was too late.

 

**”Wait no hyung I still can’t control my power—“**  he was cut short when the flower started to decompose faster, the long green leaves into a  disgusting, unhealthy dandelion, a hint of tan with holes getting wider in the middle the longer the plant is near him.

 

**”The flower is dying faster Wonpil stop it!!”**

 

**”I don’t know how!!”**

 

**”Holy fuck Dongyul hyung will kill us!!”**

 

**”Get Brian out of the room, Jae, stay away from it!”**

 

Sungjin then proceeded to put the tube of wood glue on top of the kitchen counter before going towards the living area to drag Wonpil and Younghyun away from the murder scene, with Jae following the leader’s orders: he sat on a chair and settled the clay pieces on the counter, deciding on just trying to piece it together to look like it never shattered. Getting close to the gladiolus might kill the plant quicker because even though he has a good grasp of his abilities - unlike Wonpil and Younghyun - he still doesn’t have a good understanding of what his scope or area is (in his defense, War is really vague); staying away from the plant is a safety measure.

 

Dowoon saw the chaos of his friends and let out a sigh, deciding that he would have to use his powers for the second time today just to keep his hyungs out of trouble. The antichrist and the four horsemen set to be the harbingers of the apocalypse are losing their minds because of breaking a small pot? A funny sight indeed - yet he understands because as much as possible, he would also like to avoid the wrath of their Manager ( _‘Hyung’s scary’_ , Dowoon would know)

 

Walking towards to - abandoned - plant, he cupped the soil in both of his hands and turned away from the kitchen, now facing the cream white walls. Pupils turning into Gold with irises turning opalescent, he directed his energy into the dying object into his palm, willing the dead back to life.

 

**”The plant’s alive”**  Dowoon stated while he headed towards the kitchen, taking a plastic cup from the cupboard and putting the small plant inside it ( _‘they would just have to thoroughly clean it, no big deal’_ ) before setting it on the kitchen isle, right next to the pot that their eldest is fixing. Jae looked at him with amazement in his eyes ( _‘My Days were right, hyung really looks like a cute bird’_  Dowoon thought), a _'thank you'_ being conveyed in his orbs. 

 

The other three then went out of the room heading towards the kitchen aisle, Jae’s paint - he may or may not have dropped it - in Sungjin’s hand ( Dowoon and Jae were in the latter’s room, the maknae messing around the study table while the eldest was fixing Toy Soldier’s strings on his bed.  _‘Hyung why do you have paint?'_  Dowoon asked, picking up a box of children’s poster paint right next a container of guitar picks. Without glancing up from the red guitar, Jae answered  _‘It’s the paint from that video with Sorn, we bought it but weren’t able to use it.’_ ) and the two following him like little children who got scolded by their father. 

 

Dowoon’s mind, however, was drifting away from the scene in front of him, a voice talking in his mind the more he thinks about the scenario. Malicious words were being spoken, his own voice ringing in his brain, but laced with ill intent.

 

_“Look at what the world did to our horsemen, reduced to pathetic humans who fear some mortal! Dowoon stop being blind and look at them!”_  his voice said, anger and disappointment evident with every word uttered. Dowoon tried to ignore the voice, just let it keep talking until it grew tired stopped. The voice, however, took this as a sign to continue, to tempt him further.

 

_“Our hyungs could do so much better, too bad their efforts are being overlooked by humans in the industry.” At this, Dowoon listened, remembering the times when his group faced criticism and obstacles throughout their careers as musicians._

 

_“Now they have power, yet they forgot who they are, what they can do. Don’t you agree?”_

 

Yes, Yes he does agree _._

 

_“If they forgot their capabilities, we must remind them. Destroy this world that’s hindering them from achieving their full potential-“_

 

Before the voice could continue, Dowoon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his name, seeing Jae standing right in front of him with arms on the drummer’s shoulders. 

 

**”Dowoon-ah, are you okay? You’ve been standing there while we were talking.”**  Jae asked in a soft voice, Dowoon looking behind him to see his three other hyungs looking at him with concern on their faces. Looking down he saw that he squeezed his left hand too hard, liquid being present at his palm as blood started to drip onto the floor, which Dowoon quickly stepped over. 

 

Putting his hands behind his back, the maknae smiled, his eyes turning into upturned crescents as he answered.  **”It’s nothing hyung, I just forgot that I was arranging my room earlier before Sungjin hyung entered, so I think I should go clean it now”**  he turned around and put his hand on the doorknob, but before entering, he said,  **“Just call me if you need me or anything.”** With a smile, he excused himself from the group and then proceeded to enter his room, closing the door behind him and throwing himself onto the bed, the blue sheets wrinkling with his weight on top of it.

 

A click could be heard from Dowoon’s doorknob, making Jae certain that Dowoon locked himself inside. A single red drop - too dark to be water - was contrasting to the muted color the tiles, making Jae see the drop clearly. The guitarist saw the youngest’s palm earlier, the subtle red streak of blood falling from between his closed fingers. He was about to ask Dowoon about the injury, yet seeing the drummer’s eyes - eyes that held something of like a truth unable to be told, pain carried alone that was dying to be let out - made him think otherwise.

 

_‘He’s hiding something, yet he doesn’t want to tell us’_  that much is obvious for him, yet he wouldn’t want to pressure Dowoon to tell them all. That doesn’t mean that Jae won’t conduct a little investigation on his own, his curiosity always did get the best of him.

 

He quickly wiped the blood with his shoe, the red soon being barely visible to eyes as Jae went back to his bandmates, eyes burning with determinations to figure out what was happening.

 

_‘I’ll find out what it is, just you wait.’_

 

Inside the bedroom, Dowoon lay alone with only his mind accompanying him. He was getting worse, his resolve was growing weaker, and he was aware of it. Using too much of his power would cause him to come through - his other self. His fate as the Devil would come and influence his decisions, his humanity would slip the longer he would connect to his darker side.

 

He remembered the events today, the conversation earlier and the worry in his bandmate’s faces.  _‘It doesn’t apply to you’_  is true, it only applies to the likes of Dowoon, which reminded him of his differences with the others. He was the devil’s son - unholy, a misfortune, destined to rule over Hell and bring forth Armageddon; while his members were once regular humans who only got caught in the crossfire because they were associated with him. 

 

Holding his left hand to the light, he examined the cut. His fingernails unconsciously pressed deep into his skin earlier, leaving 4 cuts that were already healing, watching the skin mend itself to close the wounds and leave no mark behind, the only evidence that there was a wound would be the traces of dry blood smeared across his palm, which Dowoon closed and wiped on his black hoodie. His hyungs doesn’t have to know, right?

 

Dowoon was getting worse for sure, but he knows he wouldn’t lapse, he knows he would be able to fight back.

 

As long as he had the others to remind him of himself, they would be fine.

 

* * *

 

 

Inside a grand castle on the depths of hell, a woman was along a marble hallway. The woman is pretty, porcelain skin with a slender body, walking with a professional aura of confidence with her heels clicking as she passed by several statues down the hall. She would’ve looked like a human if it weren’t the swirling black horns that protruded from her head.

 

Reaching at the end of the hall, she knocked twice on a big mahogany door, informing the person inside of her presence before opening the large piece of wood and entering the room.

 

The room was large, the left wall a huge shelf full of books from different eras and periods. A large glass table was at the center of the room with a map of the world and certain structures pins laid on top of it, a red flag on top of South Korea. Near the glass windows was a table with an armchair right behind it, a man seated on it, facing towards the outside of his fiery kingdom.

 

**”Sir, we have found traces of the prince’s magic indicating that he has used his powers for a forbidden spell”**  The woman spoke up when she deemed it acceptable to speak, informing the devil of the news she brought.

 

**”Oh? And what spell would that be?”**

 

**”A revival spell, sir. He brought back dead beings to life.”**

 

The king paused for a while as if processing the information in his mind before he dismissed the female.  **”You may go.”**

 

The woman bowed towards the figure before turning behind to walk away, closing the mahogany doors behind her and leaving the devil alone in his grand room.

 

With the demon gone, the Devil turned around to face towards the front. Picking up a picture frame that was on his table, he stared at his young son’s smiling face, his young self radiating a cheerful smile on the photograph. Years had passed and his son would be turning 23 this year, so he couldn’t help but wonder how he would be doing.

 

**”Dowoon, my son, we’ll get to see each other soon.”**

 


	2. It's Okay to Hurt Me, at least in my Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come and see!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest." (Revelation 6:1-2)
> 
> Demons start to find where Dowoon is, as a consequence of the drummer using his powers. Younghyun is getting ready for school and meets Hosun, while Sungjin is the one cleaning up their mess before, concluding that his members are a headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back and I decided to update, sorry for the wait... I wrote something over 11.4k words as an apology, please accept it ;w; I legit am thinking of the scenarios as I write ;w;
> 
> I took the liberties with schedules n stuff cuz I needed a venue for it and sorta thought about Younghyun graduating at August 2018.
> 
> Also, a long note at the end where I sorta explain and write what the members talked about: aka some things about demons, etc. Please read it ;w;

Dowoon sat behind his drums, back slightly slouched while scrolling through his phone. He scrolled through the familiar dark blue layout of twitter, reading both English and Korean posts alike, laughing at both gifs and memes of their members and other idols he knew as it comes across his timeline. Jae was right - My Days were indeed funny and creative, he should've made a secret account sooner to see their shenanigans.

 

While leisurely scrolling down and refreshing through his timeline, his phone suddenly popped up a message, notifying him that his battery went down to 20% and that he'd need to find an outlet or his power bank. With his hand already pulling the cord from his backpack (that was resting against the wall behind him), his eyes widened as he noticed the time and display on his dim phone - the symbols '02:47 am' glaring at him in a large white font from his screen. Attaching the wire to the power bank resting on his snare, he looked up to the wall on the side, right next to the mounted shelves containing Wonpil's keyboards, and saw the white analog clock against the cream wallpaper.

 

Looking at the shorthand pointing at the space near the number 3 and the long hand little ways after 9 made Dowoon realize that he'd been on his phone for a good 3 hours since his drum teacher left. It was only then that he noticed the eerie silence inside the room, the soft hum of the air conditioner working inside, the lack of light in the corridor outside.

 

Dowoon was alone, and alone in the early hours of the morning, where the moon is at its peak and the sky was at its darkest.

 

Frankly, he was never one to be scared of being alone or being in the dark, yet the ominous aura coming from the chilly room made his worries resurface in his brain, making him remember his fears for something much more scarier than darkness. The little creaks from a swaying closet, the swinging of hanging chords from shelves, the rustling cloth over amplifiers, among many other things made Dowoon anxious, gave him a bad feeling that it just made clear that he had to get out and return to the dorm, that he'd have to avoid whatever it is to at least try to prevent it from happening.

 

His phone vibrated as he plugged in the charger to the black device, placing it on top of his drums before standing to get his bag, fixing his items to get ready to head out. As he stood up and walked behind the stool, he heard his drumsticks clatter to the floor, rolling away from his drum set and towards the mirrors directly in front of the instruments. A drum stick got stopped by a wire while the other continued, stopping just as it met the mirror.

 

Dowoon felt the air get colder, saw the lights getting weaker and that's when he knew that he had to leave. He wore his jacket and zipped up his bag, putting the black power bank in his left pocket and holding his phone on the left. The drummer walked towards the mirror, it's light growing dimmer by the second with every step he took. Clutching his bag tighter and wearing it on his back, he bent halfway to take the familiar wood stuck on the wire and then proceeded to take the other.

 

Now kneeling in front of the mirror, he intended to take the drum stick as quickly as possible then dash out of the room. His fingers met the wooden shaft and took it, holding it with the other in one hand and tried to stand up to leave.

 

He wasn't able to, however, as he felt a cold hand touch his right shoulder, even when there was no one in the room beside him.

 

_'Oh no.'_

 

With a flicker of the light, he glanced at the mirror, eyes meeting his reflection. Right next to him, at the spot where he felt the hand keeping him from standing, was a black figure. A black shadow in the form of a human, it's eyes a contrasting bright orange staring at Dowoon from the mirror. With its grin akin to a Cheshire's mischievous smile, it spoke with a voice distorted in its echoes, words dripping with poison.

 

**"Nice to meet you, my prince.”**

 

Dropping his gaze to the ground, Dowoon stayed silent, looking down on his drum stick in his hand. He waited for the demon to move away, willing his body to not lean into the dark magic surrounding the studio room and expose himself further - hoping that the creature didn’t notice his little surprise.

 

It was too late, however, since the helion already saw his hesitation, which was already a dead giveaway that the boy right next to him is indeed of royal blood. _‘If it was a regular human that saw a demon, they would have screamed in terror’_ and Dowoon failed to remember that piece of logic.

 

 **“I know you can see me, your highness….”** the demon fake pouted, the dark clouds forming mass and turning into molten liquid, slowly having the figure that is more human-like and tangible than gusts of wind. With what appears to be its face inching closer to the other’s ear, the creature grinned widely: sharp white teeth shining through its black body, dangerous talons drawing closer to Dowoon’s now red-tipped ears. **“Or am I mistaken?”**

 

Now tilting its head to face Dowoon, the creature observed the drummer’s expression from the mirror. The latter felt the slight touch of a clawed hand through his cheek. **“Perhaps the magic is hindered here?”**

 

He held his breath and sat still, feeling the cold sweat slowly drip down his face as the demon smiled, sarcasm evident on it’s pointed teeth and planning to catch even the slightest of Dowoon’s movements.

 

Laughing dryly at the dark-haired male’s attempts of being unresponsive, the demon wanted to aggravate the heir - to anger the other as quickly as possible to prove his suspicions; And the creature may have succeeded, for Dowoon's temper has been reaching its limit, which was uncharacteristic of him.

 

Perhaps the darkness got to him.

 

**“Maybe I should offer a sacrifice? Wrecking this place could provide enough ope-”**

 

As quick as a blink of an eye, Dowoon banged the mirror with his fist, strongly to create noise, yet not hard enough to shatter - he created a ripple through the glass. In a split second, the creature’s form wavered, a thousand mouths opening and closing in on its body like a glitch before turning back to its molten state. Feeling it’s hand sizzle with pain from having it forcefully torn from the younger’s shoulder, the hellion was rendered speechless, now his turn to watch the - obviously stronger - drummer silently and in anticipation.

 

Ears tipped red in anger, Dowoon spoke words to threaten directly through the glass, irises lined with Gold and a clear glare to the demon. **“Don’t you dare.”**

 

At these words, the demon slowly smiled, grin reaching the sides of its face before speaking again, this time words of pure amusement and evil paired with its demonic echo.

 

**“You really are the prince.”**

 

_‘Fuck.’_

 

When the demon’s words soon developed into fits of laughter, Dowoon realized that he messed up. Lips slightly parted and eyes widening, he removed his fists from the glass and took his drum sticks with him, quickly standing up and turning towards the exit. Shaking off the gold in his irises that he knew reappeared, he ignored the demon’s calls and wild laughter from the mirror. Intent on leaving quickly and avoiding more confrontation than what was necessary - which was ' _no_ confrontation' at all, but not exactly went according to the youngest’s plans.

 

With a hand on the knob and the other on the light switch (which also acts as the main power switch to the room, so no one would accidentally leave the air conditioning system on), he pulled strongly and tried to leave.

 

 **“Not so fast, boy.”** The demon spoke from behind. Hearing glass crack and shatter behind him, Dowoon turned back around and saw the hellion pull itself out of the mirror, droplets of black goo dripping from the tear in the glass, and the upper torso of the peculiar creature hanging from the crack.  **"Is that all you've got? A threat?"**

 

It was a sight to see, a grotesque scene straight from a horror movie - and Dowoon is alone with it. He’d been through Hell and back, twice even, yet he was still afraid of the sight before him. He was not afraid of it being scary or looking like the scene from a movie where the ghost creeps out of the television; but rather at the implications and absurdity of it all. It boggled him, worried him, on the sudden change of ability.

 

_‘How was a demon of a lower class able to escape the mirror?’_

 

 **“You’ve grown weak. How would you bring rulership to this realm if you can’t even face me head-on?!”** The demon growled in the middle of his laughter, now fully out of the mirror with glass sticking out of its body, a million mouths opening and vanishing through its black body as it stood in front of Dowoon’s standing figure.

 

 _‘Stay calm, it wants a reaction.’_ the latter thought.

 

 **“How did you get out of the mirror?!”** Dowoon questioned, now putting on a calm and commanding facade to face the demon who was clearly challenging him. The demon ignored his question, however, stuck in its gluttonous fantasies that it started to speak while advancing to the drummer.

 

 **“Say...”** it flashed its numerous tongues over all of its teeth before disappearing.

 

**“I asked you a question, how did you get out of the mirror?”**

 

It draws closer instead.

 

**“If I eat you…”**

 

One step.

 

**“Do you think I’d….”**

 

Quicker steps.

 

**“Get stronger?”**

 

It stopped and smiled, before running full speed towards Dowoon, eyes glowing and cracking with its claws extended, getting ready to attack.

 

_‘Guess there’s no use avoiding confrontation now.’_

 

Right before the demon could land its claws near Dowoon, it stilled in its place, orange-silver eyes widening in confusion before exploding in a million tiny drops of black goo. Opalescent irises scanning the room, Dowoon looked around and saw no traces of the demon anymore - all that’s left of it were the disgusting black slime-like liquid scattered everywhere, mostly on the - intact - mirror.

 

 **"I'll be back, your highness!"** It said, voice echoing in the room before being reduced to little specks of slime.

 

Dowoon stared blankly ahead, watching the slime themselves removing itself from the glass and other surfaces before steaming away into the air through sizzles. The lights stopped flickering and the room got warmer, his aura fading along with the dark energy. He appeared as calm and neutral on the outside with his expression, yet in his mind, he was panicking.

 

He just gave away his location, now marked. A demon finding where he was, and even what he looked like after years of peace on Earth just made it easier for his father to locate him - or even if it was a message that they are aware of where he is. Ignoring it didn’t avoid the event from ever happening, it just delayed the sequence from ever setting in motion. Now, with the first step being accomplished by his enemies - _‘apparently they can also cross barriers now?’_ -  he can no longer delay or avoid anything that might happen to him - or to those he cares about.

 

_‘He should tell them already, for his hyungs to be safe.’_

 

As the last of the demonic residue vanish, Dowoon closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. His magic not as drastic as the ones he performed before, so it didn’t tax him - it didn’t bring _him_ out either, yet the youngest knows that it will somehow affect him in the future - but that’s a future too early, he had a million new problems to worry about now.

 

With a soft click of the switch and the twist of a doorknob, Dowoon proceeded to exit the building and head back home to the dorm, taking out his motorcycle’s keys and putting his drum sticks and power bank-cord-phone trio in his backpack - but not before checking the time in his phone as he quickened his pace towards the exit (having a band room in one of the building’s basement floors have some advantages).

 

‘03:00 am’

  


* * *

 

 

Younghyun woke up to his alarm ringing from his bedside.

 

Groaning from the sound of repeated sirens and vibrations, he lazily reached for his phone, taking out his hand from under the burrito-style comforter and reaching for his bedside table. Younghyun stuck out his head from the covers, eyes squinting from the sudden light of the device’s screen as he turned off the alarm and checked the time.

 

‘06:00’

 

Putting his phone under his pillow, Younghyun absentmindedly stared at his room’s ceiling for a few moments, noting how the light from his air conditioner is the only thing illuminating his room in the darkness, specks of dust floating around its little blue spotlight. The raven just stared up, mind elsewhere while his body doesn’t wanna go anywhere except for being under the sheets.

 

Despite it being a weekend, Younghyun had to go to school today. With the (possible) comeback drawing near, the lyricist was too busy with preparations for the mini-album that he had failed to participate in a few activities. He didn’t neglect his studies: he still attended classes when needed be and read his lectures while being away, did most of his requirements and passed it on time despite being not present when it was given - he certainly didn’t neglect his studies. Despite it all, he still needed to go to university for that day; there’s a limit on how much consideration his professors would give, his presence was needed and he still lacked a few requirements to pass. The student contacted his professors and figured that today was the day where most of them - including him - would be available.

 

Also, a certain manager is acting weird back in the office. From what he observed, the man doesn’t remember any of the supernatural events (or the fact that Younghyun accidentally killed him, and he would’ve been dead if not for whatever magic their maknae did, he wouldn’t be alive and standing.) that transpired in less than a week ago, but Younghyun knows that the manager now looks at him funny. Wary, even.

 

He knows it’s just his paranoia or guilt that’s talking, but he can’t look at the manager in the eye anymore.

 

Now fully awake from his early morning thinking, he decided that it was time to get up and get ready. Releasing himself from the tangles of his comforters and sitting up on the bed, Younghyun took the remote control from his bedside drawer and turned it off, feeling the cold air on his naked torso ( _“Oh hey it’s Tarzan hyung again”_ Wonpil greeted one morning from the living room as Younghyun stepped out of his room, shirtless and with his hair sticking out from all directions, it was clear that he had just woken up. And cranky. _“Shut up Pili.”_ ).

 

Sluggishly walking towards the bathroom, The bassist mindlessly turned on the lights of his room and took the towel hanging beside the bathroom door before entering and locking it from inside.

 

He didn’t notice the pair of olive eyes staring at him from the shadows.

  
  
  
  


It was already ‘06:45’ by the time Younghyun got his requirements ready and stepped out of his room. With his school bag on his back, he went near the door and took out the sneakers he wanted to wear. The time he should be there was ‘08:00’, and the fact that it was a 15-minute ride to his university made him realize that he was early.

 

Deciding that he’d have breakfast on the way instead, he went to the living area and sat on the sofa, tying his shoelaces while bopping his head to the music playing on his earphones.

 

As he finished, he soon felt a presence in the room he was in, something strong yet compact, but alive and was staring at him. Younghyun was undoubtedly new to all this magic world business, or this was all his paranoia speaking again - so he might be wrong - but he knows that eyes are watching him silently - he just doesn’t know who, or what.

 

Now standing up from the comfortable sofa seat, Younghyun looked around the room warily, defenses up and trying to see if any of his members were awake, or was just pulling a prank on him this early in the morning (which he’d rather not happen, he’s running on an empty stomach and he’d much prefer to be bothered after buying his beloved iced americano).

 

As he scanned the room, his own eyes met with green ones, stares equally piercing. Momentarily shocked, the raven quickly realized that this was the source of his discomfort - the little grey fella standing by his bedroom door with wide olive cat eyes staring at him in silence, perfectly sitting and body facing the human.

 

Laughing the tension and surprise of his face, Younghyun walked closer towards the creature, kneeling on one knee and patting the furry feline. He can now understand why people regard cats as creatures of hell: the cat was looking at him silently, observing him, like it was plotting Younghyun’s demise - which he finds cute.

 

The creature that was watching the student’s every move, was none other than Dowoon’s grey striped cat, Hosun.

 

 **“Hey, Hosun-ie…..”** Younghyun smiled, ruffling the fur on the cat’s head. The cat purred under his touch, leaning deeper in his palm with his eyes closed and tail moving sideways on the ground. For Hosun, who rarely show any emotion to the others - even his owner, Dowoon, who often complain about Hosun and the cat’s cold and reckless behavior - it is a shock for him to be this affectionate, and to Younghyun, no less.

 

_‘Gotta have to brag about this later.’_

 

Looking up at the clock on the wall, Younghyun saw that it was already a few minutes past 7, with minute hand situated near the digit 1. Standing up, the bassist dusted his pants, removing imaginary dirt from his knee before fixing the creases to his clothes. With one last scratch to the head of Hosun, he bid farewell to the cat.

 

Younghyun closed the door behind him and waited for the soft click of the doorknob to signify that it locked properly before walking towards the elevator.

 

In front of the elevator, the student took out his phone and booked a ride to his university, not wanting to go through public transportation this early in the morning. The numbers on top of the elevator increased, the red digits contrasting against black changing to the number closest to his floor. Younghyun thought, a smile on his face still thinking about Hosun’s unexpected cuteness. He made a mental note to tell his friends later just to make them envious, especially the maknae.

 

_‘Hosun?’_

 

Something clicked. The reason why Younghyun was so confused on Hosun’s presence is Dowoon’s pet was back in Busan with the drummer’s mother. He doesn’t recall the maknae ever bringing Hosun or Tori back in their dorm, but Younghyun was sure that the cat was Hosun: there’s an odd green glimmer in Hosun’s olive eyes that Younghyun is sure that the cat was Hosun.

 

_‘How come Hosun is here?’_

 

Tilting his head in confusion, the elevator door dinged and opened, revealing the empty red-carpeted elevator and only Younghyun’s reflection staring back at him from the mirror inside. Stepping inside, he put his headset back to his ears, putting the white wire over his shoulder in an arc before pressing the ‘G’ button. The elevator doors closed and proceeded to go down.

 

 _‘I suppose Dowoon might’ve brought Hosun last night, he did get home later than us.'_ Younghyun thought, pressing ‘next’ on his playlist until it reached the song he searching for.

 

Deciding to just ask the drummer later, he stepped out of the elevator as it reached the ground floor, heading straight to the cafe beside the dorm building to buy his iced americano to-go and wait for his ride there instead.

  


* * *

 

 

Sungjin thought he was past all the headaches; turns out he’s not.

 

Before, he would blame the headaches on his powers, the throbbing pains being one of his symptoms and reasons he was able to get explanations - and the truth, of course - on his band’s current predicament. During that time ( _‘it seems so long ago, maybe it’s because a lot of things happened since then.’_ thought by the brunet), Sungjin had a cause to blame his constant pains, a reason for his frustrations and decreasing control of temper - it was the headaches, therefore it was the ‘ _4-horsemen-shit’_ to blame.

 

Now, Sungjin just thinks that his headaches are caused by his members, period.

 

 **“ ‘** ** _Moral support’_ ** **my ass, he isn’t even here,”** Sungjin mumbled begrudgingly, taking a paracetamol pill in his mouth before downing it with the bottle of water he was holding in his other hand, slouching back in his seat. He sat with his head resting on where the headrest should be in his seat, absentmindedly twirling his swivel chair with his feet while staring at the ceiling.

 

The clock ticked inside the small conference room, Sungjin letting his fingers tap the white table to the beat of the seconds, silently waiting for the arrival of his bandmates. Even though they weren’t required to go to the studio today, Sungjin still had responsibilities, and that included having to mend things together for the ruckus his band made - and that included being told off by their the management instead of the whole team, he was the leader, after all. One of their managers may not remember being at death’s doors, but he can clearly feel something different - that _'feeling'_ proved to draw negative effects to their (possibly pushed aside) comeback.

 

With another unexpected hit from his headache, Sungjin shrugged off his thoughts, stopping himself from thinking about the problems they were facing.

 

As the clock struck 5 (the leader realized that he had zoned out for 10 minutes straight), the frosted glass door swung open and in came Dowoon, with a black cap over his head wearing a black shirt with black shorts, it was obvious that the male had no plans prior to their agreed meeting. The youngest held the door open, leaning his body on the glass door while looking at Sungjin.

 

 **“Hyung, let’s change venue,”** Dowoon said with a mischievous grin on his face, excitement obvious on his expression. Wonpil soon followed, wearing a casual white shirt and black pants, Sungjin supposed that they came together. He doesn’t understand the look of amazement Wonpil had when he came in though, the pianist looked like he came out of a portal from someplace far away, just by his childlike expression. 

 

_‘...Unless?’_

 

Jae’s head soon popped out of the door, a hand on the door frame and blue head looking around the room, same expression as Wonpil. **“Woah it really worked, are you the goblin or something?”** the eldest remarked, directing his answer to the youngest, whose grin got wider and confidence oozing out of him.

 

 **“Wait,”** Sungjin stood up, pushing the sleeves of his plaid shirt up before walking towards the door, eager to see what the other side was. To his surprise, what he saw outside the room was not the hallway, it was their dorm.

 

Seeing the expression on their leader’s face, Dowoon laughed, smirking confidently and proud of his little magic act. **“It’s not a big deal hyung, it’s easy. Want me to teach you?”**

 

Sungjin shook his head and sighed, feeling slightly dizzy due to his headache. Brushing a hand over his brown hair, he walked over to where the others were, walking directly to the door-slash-portal and past Jae. **“I’m not even gonna question it.”**

 

**“Just take us to the new venue, I guess we’ll go to where Brian is.”**

 

With that, Wonpil went back to the other side, going inside their dorm as Dowoon closes the door.

  


* * *

 

 

Younghyun closed the door of the faculty room behind him, sighing loudly as he looked down on his phone, seeing that it was time for him to go home. The day was finished, and thankfully he got most of the things he had to do done - except for the others where his professors were not at the campus, but he wasn’t able to set a time for those professors, therefore it wasn’t really anyone’s fault - so that he could have fewer problems for the upcoming graduation.

 

Opening his phone and quickly typing in their group chat, Younghyun notified the other members that he’ll be on his way to the building, that they could start their ‘meeting’ soon. He hit sent on the kkt app and put the device on his pocket, walking in the hallway and finding the buildings’ exit.

 

Today was the day he had been waiting for, however not out of excitement but out of curiosity. Today was the day that their members agreed on, the day where Dowoon would at least provide basic information - provide explanations - on their predicament. Information about the other world, their sudden abilities, etc. Even if the situation they were in is unbelievable - also undeniably crazy - there’s a part of him that is curious for the new information about the things he can only find in fictional works.

 

Spotting the door leading outside of the building ( _‘which was closed….. huh.’_ ), Younghyun picked up his pace, eager to go home. Before he could swing open the doors however, it was already opened from the outside.  


**“Dowoonie look! I did it!!”**

 

Opening the doors, what he was met was not the fresh air and bright outdoors; but chilly air conditioners and artificial lights of an almost empty classroom with his best friends inside. Wonpil was at the door, hands on the handle and his signature wide smile on his face. He was the one who opened the wooden doors, the one who somehow transported him to an empty classroom.

 

Looking closely, he could see that Wonpil’s eyes were darker than usual: a metallic black shade to his irises while his pupils shined a lighter color - but it could just be his eyes fooling him.

 

 **“I told you it’s easy Wonpili-hyung~”** Dowoon stated from the front, sitting on the teacher’s table with his hands fiddling a whiteboard marker. **“So we also have our Goblin’s bride huh?”** Jae joked from a table from the student’s side, slender fingers poking out of his red sweater sleeves with his head over the plastic surface.

 

Walking towards the group, Wonpil stuck his tongue out to the elder. **“You’re the one who’s wearing red, not me.”**

 

**“It ain’t a scarf so it doesn’t count.”**

 

Noticing the silence of the lyricist, Sungjin, who had his hands propped under his head, lazily beckoned Younghyun over to his spot - to which the younger complied, closing the door behind him and sitting right near the leader.

 

 **“Just don’t question it.”** Sungjin spoke, voice tired and moves lethargic. He clutched his half-empty ( _‘half full? It depends on how you see it.’_ ) bottle of water tightly, eyes closing in pain for a few seconds. A few seconds are enough for Younghyun to grow concerned.

 

**“Hyung are you okay?”**

 

**“Yeah, it’s tolerable. Just mild pain.”**

 

Before Younghyun could respond, he heard a continuous tap on the whiteboard ahead, Dowoon standing up and opening the cap from the marker. Jae sat up straight, ruffling his slightly messy pastel hair while Wonpil found a seat anywhere, removing the black cap on his head to fix his hair before putting it back on.

 

The drummer cleared his throat, changing his expression to one which they all recognize as him starting a skit. **“Okay settle down students.”**

 

Younghyun heard Sungjin mumble an **“Oh no here he goes again….”** beside him, which made the former let out a little chuckle.

Jae let out a sigh from his seat, a small smile on his face as he talked to Dowoon. **“Are you really going to start a skit right now?”** Wonpil laughed loudly at the eldest’s remark, gums showing before responding. **“There’s nothing wrong with it Jae hyung-”**

 

**“Excuse me, but what are you kids doing here?”**

 

They all whip their heads towards the door, where the new voice came from. Standing by the door frame was a man in his 50s, hands holding a brown leather briefcase and a tired expression on his face. Fixing the glasses on his face, the professor spoke politely, yet with a hint of irritation. **“I have to use this room for my 6 pm class, or is there a change I wasn’t aware of?”**

 

The professor then looked at Dowoon who was standing near the podium, looking like a deer in headlights with the red from his ears slowly spreading towards his face. The others were all equally speechless, looking towards their leader, who was caught surprised, unable to say a single word from his mouth.

 

With a sigh, the professor spoke to the band, having mistaken them all as students of Dongguk University. **“Go to your next classes or go home, I have to get ready for my lecture.”**

 

**“Wait, sir.”**

 

Jae said suddenly, standing up and calmly walking towards the professor. The members looked at their hyung, red sweater popping out of the monochromatic surrounding. Once near the adult, Jae spoke in a calm voice, almost serene and mesmerizing.

 

**“Sorry but we’re currently using the room for something important. You could always use a new room, right? There are a lot of free rooms at night, I think..”**

 

 **“Besides,”** Jae cocked his head to the side, blue strands moving along with his head as Jae spoke politely for the whole group. **“It could be easier to cancel classes. It’s pretty late and you look tired enough already - If I were your student, I’d be pretty pissed to be attending class tired with an equally tired professor.”**

 

**"What do you say, make this easier and relaxing not only for you, but for your students too."**

 

All eyes enlarging on the statement, they all looked towards Jae in disbelief. **“Jaehyungie, sorry but are you crazy?”** Sungjin whispered from the older’s back while keeping his eyes on the professor by the door. Jae remained unbothered, continuing to smile politely to the teacher with his back towards the group. Wonpil, who was seated where he could see the guitarist’s side profile, can notice the presence of a slight red glow on his eyes, speckles of crimson and bronze surrounding the taller’s eyes.

 

Expecting a scolding, the others were surprised when the professor remained silent as if contemplating the suggestion. After a couple of moments of stand-still silence, the professor spoke a short phrase to the group, as if in a trance. **“You’re right.”** before turning around and walking away. Jae, who was already standing, went ahead and closed the door as soon as the professor left.

 

Once the door was closed, Jae turned back towards the group with a smug grin on his face. **“** **_Let’s start, Dowoon.”_ ** He spoke in English, sitting down on his initial seat. Now only noticing the still shocked expressions on his members’ faces, Jae laughed before leaning back. **“What, surprised?”**

 

**“Not really hyung, just surprised it’s this soon..”**

 

At Dowoon’s words, it was Jae’s turn to be surprised. **“What?”**

 

Before the youngest could answer, Wonpil chimed in, deciding to just take off his black cap and putting it on the desk. **“Woah hyung you can do hypnotism now? Since when?”**

 

**“It’s not hypnotism!! he obviously wanted to cancel already, just gave him a little push.”**

 

 **“Everyone,”** Sungjin spoke up, putting a halt to their bickering, before pointing towards the podium.

 

**“Dowoon’s been standing there for minutes already, let’s just start.”**

 

Dowoon gave a little awkward wave at the front, hands waving while holding an uncapped whiteboard marker. The other members looked at Dowoon with a nod, signaling him to start. The youngest looked around the empty room and saw all his hyungs’ eyes on him, eager to learn: with Sungjin’s hands propped under his head, acting as a stand to balance his head, Jae’s leaning back relaxedly on his seat, Wonpil leaning towards the front with his arms on the table, and Younghyun sitting on a chair backwards, slouching with his arms and head on the backrest.

 

**“Okay, let’s start Otherworld 101.”**

  


* * *

 

  


It was already dark outside by the time they were nearly finished, there was no longer sunlight seeping through the room’s windows, the sound of cicadas echoing in the small room as Dowoon spoke, and the lights of the hallway being turned open from outside. Even after three hours inside the campus just taking _‘Dowoon’s crash course on Demons’_ (name courtesy of Jae), the group still isn’t tired, not running out of things to say and curiosity still in its peak, doodling random figures on the whiteboard.

 

Tonight, the youngest told them all they needed to know - and that includes:

 

the horsemen, ( _‘Wait, so you mean these new abilities - like what I did before - would appear in the order of when we discovered it?”_ Jae asked, eyes rapidly blinking in curiosity while looking at Dowoon who was drawing, four stick men riding on what appears to be horses on the whiteboard. Letting out a hum of contemplation, the drummer soon responded with a short _“Yes? I think it takes some time, but all of you will definitely have some abilities, not only Jae-hyung…”_

 

Dowoon then stood up straight and bowed slightly to the older members, voice sounding like it’s full of guilt yet his intentions and expression showing false apologies. _“For that, sorry in advance hyungs.”_

 

 _“You don’t really mean it so stop bowing~”_ Younghyun answered in a sing-song voice, playing along to the youngest’s act.

 

Sungjin suddenly spoke up, voicing his thoughts and earning a laugh from the others.

 

 _“Enough of powers, I’m just curious when a white horse will come.”_ )

  
  


The new abilities, (Warily looking around the room for any traces of other beings, Dowoon watched Wonpil try to use magic, successfully materializing a small orb - a size smaller than a palm, black in color with a metallic shine and mulberry violet root-like patterns present inside. _“So this is my color? And nobody else can see it?”_ the pianist said, eyes on the small floating orb around his hands, playing with it by moving it in an infinite symbol manner. _“Yes Wonpillie-hyung, and nobody except us or other creatures can see it. It’s like a signature or something…”_

 

 _“What about you Dowoon-ah? What’s your color?”_ Younghyun asked from his seat, reaching out to Wonpil and asking to give the small sphere to him.

 

Dowoon pursed his lips tighter, deciding to not tell everything - _‘for now!!’_ the younger reasons to himself - to keep it a secret. _“I don’t know Brian-hyung… Don’t really use my powers a lot to find out.”_

 

_“Why not?”_

 

_“ ‘cuz it’s bothersome, hyung.” )_

  
  
  


The demons, ( _“So I actually saw those squiggly thingys before, the ones materializing in our practice room before?”_

 

 _“They’re not really called ‘squiggly thingys’ Sungjin-hyung. But yeah, they were.”_ Dowoon said, starting to move towards the other side of the whiteboard - that was free of doodles and figures.

 

Curious, Wonpil raised his hand slightly before bringing it down quickly once he realized what he was doing ( _'I'm not in an actual lecture.'_ ), and stated his question instead. Crossed eyes staring at the youngest, he spoke. _“I thought you said that they were mindless and only approach strong amounts of magic. Why come to our practice room before? I mean, you also said that you never use your powers.”_

 

The drummer was about to speak but closed his mouth shut. He didn’t know the answer too and never got to question it. _“Now that I think about it, yeah I don’t understand. Why?”_

 

_“It was probably Sungjin’s doing, he did practically affect the whole building remember?”_

 

With a silent hum, the leader agreed. “ _Maybe.”_

 

Younghyun looked around the room and gave out a small giggle. “ _Why does it look like we’re having a brainstorming session?”_ )

  
  


And other things the four horsemen were curious about. ( Younghyun raised his hand and spoke in a childlike voice, calling out to the youngest who in the middle of fixing his black cap. _“Teacher!!”_ Playing with the bassist’s skit, Dowoon responded with a clear voice. _“Yes, student?”_

 

_“How about Dante’s Inferno? Is it real?”_

 

Dowoon blinked once, completely dumbfounded at the unexpected question.

 

_“What?”_

 

Jae let out an _“aaahh”_ upon remembering the book, looking over at Younghyun silently whispering _“Why the sudden question Bri?”_ Younghyun slouched again, drawing out a sigh before looking at the eldest. _“Just curious about what literature tells us about hell.”_

 

_“He meant ‘ the nine circles of Hell’.”_

 

 _“Oh that, easy answer,”_ Dowoon stated, leaning on the podium before cooly answering. The members looked eager, all eyes on the drummer.

 

 _“I don’t know.”_ Dowoon grinned.

 

 _“How could you not know when you said that you’ve LIVED in Hell?”_ Sungjin said, bewildered at the youngest’s teasing.

 

 _“I did but…”_ Dowoon scratched the back of his head, bashful and looking down before continuing. _“I wasn’t really allowed to go out, much less stroll around that place.”_

 

 _“Well frankly, I don’t wanna find out.”_ Wonpil said.)

  
  


An important discussion happened that night, and thankfully for Dowoon, nothing alarming has happened: no interruptions, no attack, not even accidents from his hyungs trying out some of their abilities. The maknae was impressed: his bandmates handled everything calmly and with an open mind, and not to mention them showing mastery in controlling some low-level spells (he even got scared at water possibly spilling on him, Sungjin jokingly making his bottle float near the drummer’s capped head).

 

They were already finishing up, Younghyun fixing his bag (the middle child thought it’d be better to remember everything by taking notes of it, so during Dowoon’s “lecture”, he wrote all of it on the back of a random notebook.) and the other’s fixing the room: Jae erasing the writings on the board, taking pictures of the stick figures while laughing at it, Wonpil closing the windows and blinds of the room, sticking his head out to hear the cicadas from the nearby tree and looking at the - already midnight velvet - sky, and Sungjin aligning the chairs, putting it back under the tables and letting the tables face the front. 

 

It was already past 8, and according to Younghyun, the building - this area - of the university closes at around 8, so that meant they had to leave.

 

 **“Dowoonie,”** Dowoon heard Wonpil call his name from somewhere in the room. The maknae let out a little hum of acknowledgment, fiddling with the remote controller at the podium. He heard the pianist clear his throat before speaking.

 

**“Why did you decide to tell us about all of this now?”**

 

Dowoon stopped what he was doing and looked at where Wonpil is. The male was near the windows, hands on the blinds and pulling it downwards so the blinds would go down. The older members all looked at Dowoon, eager to find out the answer.

 

 **“I mean,”** Wonpil took his hands of the blinds and stood straight. **“We’ve had these powers for a month at most - Sungjinie hyung’s case - but why only tell us all of these now?”**

 

 _‘Yeah, why now? Is it really necessary?’_ Those words were what plagued his friend’s minds, yet Dowoon’s mind was circulating a different question altogether.

 

_‘How much of the truth should I tell?’_

 

He decided to be honest.

 

He sighed, and that was enough for the others to know he’ll be serious. Dowoon took a moment to think of the words he’ll say, two inhales and two exhales passing before he answers.

 

**“To be honest, it’s for our safety.”**

 

He gulped.

 

**“There’s probably a reason why you all suddenly had powers, and I’m sure it has something to do with me. Now, I think - no. I know that someone is out to get me, and I don’t think you are all safe from a crossfire.”**

 

The words lingered in the air, Dowoon waiting for the information to sink in on the member’s minds. Deep inside, he’s feeling guilty. He knows he’s the reason that all of this is happening, yet he doesn’t really know how and why - and that’s what frustrates him. It’s like playing a game where you’re fighting your opponent in the dark while the other is watching you through transparent glass, you fighting blindly wondering where and how to defeat the other, yet the other is already controlling everything around you and is spectating you make a fool of yourself.

 

Before he could even overthink it all, he felt a hand touch his shoulder looking up to see his Busan-bro’s shining eyes and comforting smile. He spoke with an accent, a rough yet caring, comforting voice to reassure the younger. **“You don’t have to fight alone. We’re glad that you told us all about it, at least we got some answers.”**

 

 **“We’re your hyungs, Dowoon. If they think we’ll let you get kidnapped or hurt by them,** **_then they’re wrong.”_ **Jae joked, speaking in a mix of Korean and English, enough for Dowoon to understand and appreciate the taller’s effort to cheer him up.

 

They all know what to say, to cheer him up whenever he’s feeling down - and he’s thankful. The youngest was suddenly reminded of why he told them and is doing this in the first place: to keep the ones he cares about safe.

 

**“Now let’s go home, I think I need another painkiller. I can hear my own head pounding so loud I think it’s cursing me.”**

 

**“I need sleep. I can hear my bed at the dorm calling out to me.”**

 

A knock against wood startled the band, all looking at the door that slightly creaked open. The guard’s head peeped in, his hat slightly tilting from his head as he spoke.

 

**“Kids, are you still busy? The building is closing already.”**

 

**“Yes sir, we’ve just finished packing up and will leave shortly.”**

 

Picking up his bag, Younghyun turned around and felt the zipper open, letting Sungjin and Jae put any of their belongings that they don’t bother holding. Once it was finished, he gave a short nod to the group, already expecting one of them to open the said weird portal (he’s still fascinated and mildly envious of the spell - he still is having a hard time to produce any spell, but he knows it’ll only be a matter of time ‘til he learns, he is the last one after all.) and transport them home.

 

They didn’t notice that the guard was still there, standing on the door frame until they heard him speak, voice slightly gruff and groggy than before, a different glint in his eyes that Sungjin, despite his growing headache, swears that he saw tangerine.

 

_‘Something isn’t right.’_

 

**“A window is left open.”**

 

They all looked towards the side and sure enough, behind Dowoon, a window was left open. Slight winds moved the blinds sideways, the chill air seeping into the room. The guard then entered the room and proceeded to approach the group, saying that he’d close it.

 

 **“Oh no, it’s okay mister. I can do it-”** Wonpil was then cut off by the guard.

 

**“No. Let me.”**

 

It started to rain.

 

_‘Something definitely isn’t right.’_

 

As if time moved slow for the leader, he saw the event unfold. Vision going hazy yet suddenly detailed, he saw the guard’s face twitch, as if glitching for a slip second to show sharpened teeth and glowing eyes, claws aiming to reach the unsuspecting maknae from behind. The shadows creeped out from the corners of the room, each opening tears to reveal sharpened teeth and long tongues, all aiming for Dowoon.

 

Sungjin felt his body move, he quickly took hold of Dowoon’s arm and pulled towards him, stationing himself in front of the maknae and his whole team. As the drummer was pulled towards the leader, his initial reaction was grasping for something to steady him, and that shock resulted in him accidentally holding the guard’s arm. Upon contact the skin sizzled, skin tone melting and dripping like paint or acid from the man’s arm. The man let out a hiss of pain, it’s tongue coming out long from its now misaligned jaw.

 

Watching the scene, Sungjin hissed harder, a hand immediately going to hold his temple. His head felt heavy and was pounding harder as if a force wanted to release itself from the confinements of his brain.

 

 **" _Holy shit_ _!_ " **they heard Jae say. It was only then that the others caught wind of the situation, standing protectively and defensively with each other. Sungjin glared at the guard - no, demon - in front of them. Jae stood in front of Wonpil, who, along with Younghyun, were on the different sides of Dowoon, acting as a barrier from the demon. 

 

They all knew that it was after their youngest.

 

A loud inhumane cackle came from the demon, body morbidly twitching starting from its face, the human fleshly slowly turning into a sickly red-ish hue, jaws unhinging and teeth sharpening, the human’s body became grotesque with a million disgusting tears, cracked eyes, and long claws. His hat tore open, sharp horns emerging from it's head. The lights dimmed in the room, the door quickly closing shut.

 

With the shadows crawling on every corner and engulfing the room in darkness, the hellion laughed loudly and prepared to strike.

 

 **“You know, word in Hell is that the prince has been found, enjoying a peaceful life on Earth among humans.”** The demon nonchalantly spoke, walking around the room with the shadow’s eyes and mouths following his every move.

 

 **“I just had to see the little boy up close, good thing I got in this,”** He looks down on his host’s body and tattered uniform **“body. Who knows how hard it would’ve been if I had no access?”**

 

Jae understood why in shows like these, the villains take their time talking about anything and everything under the sun, yet the protagonists still listened and didn’t just attack. A part of him was curious about everything else, while a part of him was horrified.

 

 _‘Demons existed, as in, an actual demon is in front of me!’_ Jae thought, using the time to process everything so far. Seeing and feeling that his life is in danger made it all real to him, and he didn’t wanna die today. Being the man of faith that he is, he silently prayed to God above that he’s watching over him, that he’d get through and survive an actual demon’s attack.

 

He just had to resist vomiting from the sight and he should be fine if there ever was a brawl.

 

**“I heard that if you bring back the heir, you’d gain favor from the ruler - but, If you EAT the heir, you’d gain enormous power, enough to overthrow the ruler.”**

 

Another laugh came out of the demon. Having heard no response from the group - who was keeping quiet - the hellion materialized something in the air, mists a horrible tangerine mixed with a rusted color before disappearing. A small curved dagger, black and engraved, rested on its black-tipped claws, throwing it around and playing with it on its finger.

 

**“Let’s see if the second part is true.”**

 

The red creature scoffed, voice muffled in demonic tongue while possessing the poor security guard - cracked skin with bloodshot eyes, slowly revealing his true colors as he carefully walked in a circular motion to the boys, the ebony dagger (Dowoon identified it as a dagger forged from the flames of Hell) on his hand while slowly approaching the supposed Devil’s son.

 

Sungjin - who stood protectively in front of the youngest - pushed Dowoon further behind, eyes squinting and trailed to the demon in front of them, waiting for sudden movement.

 

In a mocking voice, the miscreant spoke, **“I just don’t get why star boy is needed back below.”**

 

Dowoon looked bewildered, eyes enlarging upon the mention of the unique nickname. Wonpil let out a loud puff from containing his laughter, which made the men in the room look towards his direction.

 

 **“I’m sorry,”** the copper-head spoke in between giggles. **“It’s just- star boy”** He then broke out into a loud laugh - which earned a nudge from the eldest in the band, mouthing _‘now’s not the time, Wonpil.’_ in silent English towards the younger.

 

 **“A word of advice,”** the creature said, black shadow-like figures growing out of the shadows, windows being forced open due to strong winds behind it. Raindrops went inside the room, thunder booming from behind as the sky started to cry. **“Don’t use your powers, your highness. Your color might linger.”**

 

**“Powers wha-”**

 

Before Younghyun could continue his statement, the demon strikes towards the group, darkened claws reaching out directly towards Sungjin and Dowoon who was behind him. The group dispersed seconds away from contact, with Wonpil screaming loudly and moving a few tables out of place. The demon struck the wall instead, leaving a cracked indent on the beige wall.

 

 **“What the fuck?!”** Younghyun screamed, feeling shadow-like bony fingers touching his leg, pulling him towards the corner. Flinging his bag towards the hands, he managed to break off from its hold and run towards Wonpil, who was pushing chairs into the shadows of grotesque monsters (also the pianist might have tears in his eyes, but he’s not letting them drop).

 

With the band separated, the demon focused solely on Sungjin and Dowoon, the younger trying to strike back to the hellion without the use of his powers, fearing that some other creatures might come out of the shadows. With each passing second, Sungjin became disoriented, unable to hear anything amidst the chaos due to his head pounding loudly, the sound of thunder and rain hitting his back near the window the only thing registering in his mind.

 

His head felt like it would tear apart, something overflowing and forcing out. _But what?_

 

Dowoon, who grew concerned for their leader who suddenly hunched over and held onto his head, a hand on an overturned table to keep him balanced. He heard the light-haired male groan in pain, eyes scrunching as if trying to tolerate the discomfort. For the second he looked at their leader, the demon attacked, Multiple mouths grinning at the sight and dagger reaching out to slash the maknae and break skin.

 

**“KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE FUCKING ENEMY YOON DOWOON!!”**

 

Jae said, charging towards the hellion while swinging a huge chair over its head. The demon’s head turned 180 degrees back towards him when the chair was only a few inches near hitting, it’s elongated tongue wrapping around the steel legs of the chair - and Jae’s exposed arm. With blank circular eyes, The demon grinned at the eldest, who just stared in horror and felt his vomit rushing upwards from his throat.

 

Younghyun came and took his hands on the tongue, wrapping it around his lavender sleeves before forcing it away from the older’s arm, pulling with all his might and hurdling it towards the deep corners where the shadows are. Jae resisted the urge to vomit, instead choosing to wipe his arm - that had purplish marks - on his pants, letting out a disgusted sound at how wet his pale limb was.

 

**“It’s wet!! It licked me!!”**

 

A remote control then went flying past the duo, even moving past Dowoon and Sungjin, hitting a slimy demon in the mouth and making it recoil from behind. They looked towards the podium and there Wonpil was, approaching his bandmates while avoiding lurking shadows. He waved his phone around, seeing the shadows retreat to the corners whenever bright light flashed near it.

 

**“Hyungs, the squiggly thingys are afraid of bright lights!”**

 

Feeling that the statement was directed to his drawings before, Dowoon felt it slightly stab his pride, calling his artwork ‘ _squiggly thingys’_ like how Sungjin called them before. **“They aren’t called squiggly thingys!”**

 

**“Tasty.”**

 

The demon from the shadows spoke, a euphoric expression on its distorted face, multiple mouths now revealing itself all across the security guard’s body.

 

 **“A hint of ashes, cinders, and blood - along with power,”** the demon continued, now standing up and staring at the blue-haired man in front with glowing orange veins appearing itself on the red-ish skin. 

 

 **“War is here,”** it smirked. Wonpil moved protectively in front of the older, who already praying all the prayers he could think of in his mind.

 

The demon ran at full speed, knocking on any tables and chairs, some of its mouths devouring the wood whole, some destroying it with it’s sharp teeth to pieces. The trio desperately tried to use some magic, Wonpil trying to summon whatever he could but he can’t, panic very obvious in his movements.

 

The demon was struck with acid moments before reaching, running into a barrier that made his host’s skin burn and sizzle while the demon shrieked in pain. The shadows near disintegrating into tiny bubbles. Younghyun looked around and saw a golden barrier, texture shining in a rainbow halo akin to a glossy bubble, keeping them safe from the outside world.

 

 **“Yah!”** Dowoon said, standing away from the group, near the platform on top. Black tendrils trying to approach him, yet turning away once in contact. Eyes from the walls all stared at him, aura a powerful blast making the lesser demons submit.

 

_'Fuck him, I'll deal with it later.'_

 

 **“I thought you were after me, not them.”** Irises now glowing a bright gold, contrasting the dark atmosphere of the room. The youngest was furious, calm yet angry - almost scary to the eyes of even his band members. They were seeing Dowoon using his powers, the fact that the drummer is a demon suddenly resurfacing in their mind.

 

 **“Leave my hyungs alone, I’m already revealing myself, right?”** He had a serious expression on his face, carefully revealing some of his powers, across the building, yet not enough to spread.  **"Isn't that enough?"**

 

The demon cackled loudly, turning towards the other demon before being face to face with the youngest, saliva dripping from its unhinged jaw and beady tangerine eyes staring into Dowoon’s soul, a hint of grey glistening beneath the distorted face’s cracks. His claws were looming over Dowoon, the drummer’s own hands holding back the claws from his unprotected head, black cap lost somewhere on the floor. There was a struggle of power occurring with the two, arms trembling from the forcefull exchange.

 

 **“I like you, your highness.”** The demon spoke in Dowoon’s ear, heavy rain pelting down and wetting the floors on the side. With a long tongue licking the younger’s side profile, Dowoon recoiled in disgust, moving backward while forcibly rubbing his face with his arms.

 

The two decided then fought, Dowoon obviously holding back all the while protecting his hyungs, who were trying to forcefully break the iridescent gold barrier, screaming at Dowoon to release them and let them go. With a careless slash of the dagger on Dowoon's arm, the drummer went shocked, a look of pain obvious on his face as he held onto his bleeding arm.  **"I'd like it if you embraced your nature, better."**

 

He can feel himself slipping, losing control as his arm bleeds out due to the supernatural properties of the dagger - limiting his ability to heal fast.

 

Meanwhile, Sungjin leaned on the open window. His arms were grasping tightly to the window frame, rain hitting him hard on his back with the thunder and lightning booming behind him. He was outside of the little bubble, suffering alone from his internal pain. The leader was already forgotten in the chaos, unmoving from the pounding of his head. Nobody even noticed that the tendrils that tried to approach him were retreating, unable to do so, leaving him untouched and unharmed alone. While everyone was busy trying to save each other, he sat trying to orient himself, his senses heightened yet his vision both hazy and focused, trying to ignore the chaos and loud sounds of the room.

 

A voice was whispering to him - what he thinks are voices from the lesser demons, telling him to fight, to release the forces pent up through pain, draw an arrow and attack - all in a cryptic and ominous way that Sungjin didn’t have the strength to decipher.

 

_‘It’s all too much at the same time, too noisy and too messy.’_

 

The constant whispers in his ear, the sharp hits to his back in the form of stings, lightning striking a burst of white color from the dark surroundings, glowing eyes, glowing lights, continuous screams and grunts from everybody in the room - it was all too much, making Sungjin dizzy and hurt, anger at too much disorder.

 

 **“For fuck's sake stop it!!”** He stood up straight, thunder roaring as he screamed, lightning striking from the clouds in a repeating manner.

 

The member all looked at the source of the scream momentarily, with Dowoon's vision getting clearer for a split second due to their leader's call for attention.

 

Lightning strikes came inside the room the marble tiles breaking and leaving electronic discharge, the shadows on the ground convulsing, disintegrating into nothing as the electricity sparked. With the gold barrier shattering into a million glass pieces, the trio inside crossed their arms, protecting themselves from the glass pieces, and all looked at their leader.

 

_‘Draw an arrow and attack’_

 

Following the voice without a thought, Sungjin drew an arrow and aimed, lightning crackling on his fingertips and pointed it straight towards the demon before firing.

 

Silver irises following the trail of electricity lead towards the demon, Sungjin watched the expression of the demon change upon seeing the bright light coming towards him, Dowoon immediately moving away to avoid contact, irises losing in saturation while walked closer to his hyungs.

 

The demon convulsed, burning plastic present in the empty air, a trail of black burns on the floor, with the tendrils all disintegrating. The glutton exploded, a thousand sparks going around the room ( _‘This looks like a gruesome fireworks show.’_ Jae thought) before vanishing with an inhuman screech.

 

The light came back from the room slowly, the tendrils all dying and vanishing from the shadows. Sungjin stood near the open window, suddenly out of a daze, irises slowly fading its silver hue. A spark of lightning circled above his head, slowly dying out from its halo movement - a crown for the first horseman.

 

The group approached Sungjin, who appeared shocked, looking around the room with wide eyes. Dowoon smiled a childlike smile, amazed with their leader. 

 

 **“Hyung that was so cool! How did you do that?”** Younghyun ( _‘Sungjin’s #1 Fan’_ as he would’ve called himself) said, looking behind the older and seeing if there were any injuries. When no response came from the leader, Wonpil became worried. **“Why do you seem so surprised Sungjinie hyung?”**

 

 **“Nothing, it’s just that,”** Sungjin smiled. **“My headache’s all gone.”**

 

 **“Wow, so you didn’t remember doing all that badass stuff and shooting an arrow out of lightning, hyung?”** Dowoon said, keeping the mood light.

 

**“I remember but I couldn’t care less, I’m just glad that headache is not bothering me anymore.”**

 

Jae laughed at that, looking around the room. It was all fixed: tables arranged, floors spotless, almost as if no otherworldly fight happened inside - not that he’s complaining. He figured that the others all noticed it, but decided to not comment on it, probably just a part of the whole magic thing. **“Must be that bitch of a headache huh?”**

 

**“You have no idea, Jaehyungie.”**

 

Jae saw the possessed guard’s body sitting down at the table in front, body hunched over on the table and fine - no injuries whatsoever and skin back to a normal skin tone. The man seemed to be sleeping, breathing and alive with his chest moving up and down.  **"Oh? It's him."** Dowoon stated, tone going up at the end in odd joy.

 

 **"You're weirdly happy in your tone but yeah, that's the guard."** Younghyun stated. Jae went closer to the sleeping figure, leaning down to see the face resting on the wooden table.  **"Do you think he'll be okay? That he won't remember us?"**

 

 

 

 **“I’m sure he’ll be fine Jaehyungie hyung. He’ll probably end up like our manager.”** Wonpil followed the eldest trail and saw the body.  **"We should just leave him here.:**

 

**"Or not."**

 

The members look towards the youngest, demeanor suddenly changing as he put his hands on his pockets, walking slowly towards the body. He smirked as he observed the slight rise and fall of the stranger's back, leaning in slightly to notice. **"There's a possibility - very slight, that the demon damaged his brain already. He might remember us."**

 

Younghyun looked at Dowoon in shock,  _'remember them? then I'll be in danger!'_ the bassist thought. He was a student of the university, studies and enter in this building of this department, he can't afford the guard to suspect him.  **"What can we do then?"**

 

**"Kill him."**

 

Silence loomed around the room before Sungjin laughed, not believing what the maknae said.  **"What? Stop joking Dowoon-ah, I nearly believed you."**

 

It was when they only got a smirk in response that they became concerned and wary, not only at Dowoon's nonchalant way of suggesting murder, but also how he seemed even eager to carry on with it.

 

**"It's a safety precaution-"**

 

**"Not necessary though Dowoonie-"**

 

 **"It's fun though, just to be sure of everything."** the drummer responded back, looking straight into Wonpil's eyes that that's when the latter realized something different in Dowoon's own. It was a shade of dark Gold, nearly black if not for the iridescent reflection of his pupils. A sinister glint in Dowoon's innocent face that the pianist recognized as not their youngest. 

 

Dowoon, eager in tone, decided to ask the members after moments of silence. **"So, should I do it?** **"**

 

 **"Dowoonie are you hearing yourself speak? Please stop the nonsense."** Wonpil said, voice demanding yet soft, scolding the youngest with a poker-faced expression. Dowoon's eyes enlarged, looking shocked at his hyung's words that he became speechless. Wonpil only continued, trying to get Dowoon to snap out of whatever hold he's in - or how Wonpil assumes he is.  **"Are you even aware that you are using your powers?"**

 

The three hyungs were surprised, now only noticing the hint of gold in the drummer's eyes. Dowoon face showed slight horror, hands moving away from the sleeping body when he noticed what he was doing. Gold completely vanishing, Dowoon looked around the room, aura back to normal and apologized.

 

**"I guess I was, sorry about that hyungs, didn't know what happened there for a minute."**

 

The others proceeded to question Dowoon on _"what happened?'_ to him and why did he _"suddenly suggest murder?"_ but Dowoon all but answered the questions, saying that it was nothing important and he would explain if it was. Obviously none of his bandmates believed him, but they all kept their opinions for now, wanting to find out instead.

 

Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, Jae tried to change the top to more relevant issues.

 

 **“I remember the demon saying something a while ago.”** the eldest started,  **“He seemed shocked that there was a horseman present? So they don’t know, or can’t feel our presence?”**

 

 **“Probably, then that they don’t know about you hyungs.”** Dowoon said after moments of thinking, still touching his arm.

 

Sungjin stretched his body, neatly folding the green plaid sleeves to his elbows. **“That’s a good thing I guess.”**

 

Noticing the lack of blood seeping through Dowoon's hand, Wonpil tool a close look on the drummer's injury and smiles. **"Hey your arm is not bleeding anymore!"**

 

 

 **"Really? Woah!!"** Dowoon smiled.

 

Looking at his phone, Younghyun saw the numbers ‘21:07’ and notified the group. **“They probably already locked us inside. Should we call for security?”** Dowoon grinned, motioning towards the door. **“No need, I can do that portal thing again remember?”**

 

 **“Oh, maybe Sungjin could try it!”** Jae said, pushing his red sleeves while borrowing Wonpil’s hat, putting it on his head backward. Sungjin shook his head slowly, hands following a similar motion. **“I don’t wanna try to do it, Wonpil looks eager though.”**

 

Wonpil’s eyes twinkled, obviously wanting to do the spell. The copper-head ran towards the door eagerly, hands already ready to hold the handle. While walking towards the door, something crept up behind Younghyun, growing large in its size and claws extending to eat the college student. Wonpil, who was looking at his group, was the first to notice.

 

**“Brian hyung behind yo-”**

 

The - abnormally large - lesser demon opened it’s jaws, growling right in front of the raven, saliva dripping from the group. Sungjin got himself ready, already starting to get the hang of his new abilities. Eyes flashing silver, he had a silent agreement with Dowoon, to be the one who would use his powers instead of the younger (it was already clear that Dowoon using his would only draw attention, which they would rather not gain.)

 

Charging towards the group, the demon brought out its tongue, eyes gleaming a powerful orange. Before it could draw closer, however, a gray cat went inside from the window, eyes glistening a strong Olive before gaining in size. 

 

It bit the demon and tore it to pieces as if the large demon was only a plaything, dark flesh tearing apart underneath the shadow-like body. The members all watched in fascination and horror at the sudden turn of events, their new hero in the form of a gray striped cat.

 

Once it was done, the cat shrunk back into normal size, letting out a small meow before encircling Younghyun’s feet, pushing towards his pants.

 

 **“Hosun!! What are you doing here?”** Dowoon bent down and took the cat - his cat - by the collar and brought him up. The member went closer towards the feline, disbelief in his face (especially Younghyun’s) at the mention of the familiar name.

 

 **“W-wait,”** Wonpil stuttered **“That MONSTER is HOSUN?”** His voice was high, looking down at the cat that was staring right at him with his olive eyes.

 

 **“He’s not a monster, he’s a familiar!”** Dowoon responded, holding Hosun close to his chest while rubbing his fur. The feline was calm, yet he was staring at Younghyun intently, head following the bassist’s movements. Dowoon then spoke to Hosun, tone tired yet comforting. **“When did you get here Hosun-ie?”**

 

 **“Wait,”** Younghyun’s ears perked up **“You didn’t bring Hosun here last night?”**

 

**“What do you mean? He’s supposed to be back at Busan.”**

 

Younghyun stared at the feline, fox-like eyes staring back into the cat’s own orbs. **“I swear he was at the dorm earlier, even gave me a little scare when I woke up.”**

 

 **“Aaah, so that explains it.”** The maknae said, now dropping the cat on the ground - who immediately went towards Younghyun’s feet.

 

Seeing the weird behavior of Hosun (who is not affectionate), Jae became confused. **“What explains what? Why is it weirdly attached to Younghyun?”**

 

Now walking towards the door and out of the building, Dowoon spoke. **“Hosun is a familiar, he’s what literature would call ‘Cerberus’. He’s supposed to guard the gluttons but I guess his abilities went out of Hell upon his master’s signature.”**

 

Wonpil opened the door, turning the handle to reveal the conference room back in the JYPE building (they agreed to it since the CCTVs should show Sungjin checking out of the building). **“Cerberus is a cat? And his master? Who’s his master?”**

 

**“Brian-hyung.”**

 

They all looked shocked, eyes comically widening at the statement. **“Why me?”**

 

Dowoon laughed before going past the door Wonpil was holding open, picking up the black cap he lost somewhere during the chaos from the table near the door and wearing it above his head. **“You’re Death remember? I’ll tell more back at home.”**

 

They decided to push the issue aside walking past the portal-slash-door Wonpil made successfully. The pianist let the cat - who was trailing behind the lyricist, before going through himself, closing the lights and the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K so notes:
> 
> \- I know Dowoon didn't have a twt acc during that part, so I wanted to mess around n liek, make Dowoon have a secret stan acc... they probably already have one tho 0v0
> 
> \- Dowoon's ears turn red when he's shy, angry, frustrated, etc. in this fic. when he experiences strong emotion, the tip of his ears turn red.... I just find that fact about him cute ldkflsjdlksdjfksld
> 
> \- Dowoon owns a motorcycle here cuz he has a motorcycle license, right?
> 
> \- if you noticed the clothes, it’s from that one vlive where they picked fanart
> 
> \- their powers would appear in the order they were unlocked.. does that make sense? I mean, the full extent of their powers reveal or show itself in the order of the four horsemen, their powers are developing and affecting them each slowly, hence Sungjin (the first horseman) unlocked the arrow, etc. and Jae is starting to develop those small stuff, and Younghyun still has trouble, since he's the last.
> 
> \- another note regarding powers, they don't have a "specific" set of powers. I mean, their abilities often mix? like, teleportation n stuff are not only exclusive to one member, everyone can do it. So is levitation and warp n stuff. They do have special abilities that only they get to do, like how Sungjin's main ability unlocked here, and Jae is showing hints of manipulation. not saying that's his main though, nor that's the extent of Sungjin's ability, cuz as of now I haven't set a limit
> 
> \- the color stuff is talking about something like a magic signature, only they can have it and create it. Wonpil's is a metallic black since Famine is called the Black Horse Rider, Jae's a ruby red for War, Younghyun's a pale jade, and Sungjin's metallic silver. Dowoon's is iridescent Gold cuz he's royalty and I like Gold :3 think of color and texture as something of hierarchy: Iridescent is colorful yet Gold is shiny and rare, therefore strongest and only seen in Royalty (aka the ruler and his son), metallics and gemstones textures are rare - the horsemen, then matte colors, pastels, solids, and the last are, of course, plain black.
> 
> \- Demons are divided in class and abilities (according to Dowoon, those are the only significant stuff) the lesser shadow like demons are sorta mindless and just follow the trail of strong magic or aura, while the highest and most powerful have bodies, can cross realms and stay there longer. They appear more human and usually assigned to sins. The higher you go, the more smart and powerful they become. The demons here were of a higher class to the sin Gluttony, hence orange (i imagine Gluttony with orange okay? ;v;), it could command other less-demons and even possess someone, yet he isn't strong enough to hold a body.
> 
> \- that Dante's Inferno was just something I wanted to throw in there :3 also, Cerberus is said to guard the 3rd circle of Hell, Gluttony, and Hosun is Cerberus soo.... also, just wanted it to be Hosun since Younghyun himself has cat-like eyes xD
> 
> \- lightning for Sungjin, bow, and arrow, and also some mentions of electricity halo because according to the text, the first horseman is said to have a crown, carry a bow and arrow, and spoke in a "voice like thunder".
> 
> \- Dowoon is trying to avoid the apocalypse, for his fate to happen so he was hiding, not only from the demons but also from himself. That's who 'him' is :3
> 
> \- n in the future, Wonpil proceeds to use this portal thingy to quickly transport himself to someplace for his solo vlive where he sang, and Younghyun became amazed that it only took 10 minutes lol
> 
> Those are all that was in this chapter :3
> 
> chapter title is a line from "Headache" by Day6, that song is Sungjin's song fite me if u disagree.
> 
> Sorry it took so long but again, I'm a really slow writer so and I legit only think about all of these as I type so..... pls forgive me ;w; It's not proof-read (seriously, when is any of my works proofread asdlskflskdf) so pls don't be afraid to comment on any grammar mistakes ;w; I'll try to edit them if I have time.
> 
> Also the reason it took so long cuz Sungjin here is inspired by real-life = me having annoying headaches at random that most of the time is tolerable, but sometimes it just hurts sfghhhfvdfsbjhjgbhfc
> 
> If you have any questions, or would just like to... idk, talk, feel free to drop by my cc or twt ^_^  
> [ Curious Cat ](https://curiouscat.me/Quinn_Oct)  
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